The present invention relates to mechanical regulation systems, and more particularly, to a mechanical regulation system that provides for controlled tow line payout between a towed aerobody and a towing vehicle.
The closest prior art to the present invention is used in the existing ALE-50 towed decoy, currently in the inventory of the U.S. Armed Forces. The ALE-50 system is comprised of a decoy, a housing and a reel/payout mechanism. The ALE-50 system uses three copper wires to act as a data link between the decoy and a host aircraft that tows the decoy. The ALE-50 system uses a rotating reel with mechanical braking and sliprings for the data link. The ALE-50 system has a rotating tow line reel which uses the sliprings to bridge the rotating coupling between the stationary housing and the rotating reel. As a result of using the rotating reel, a mechanical braking system must be used which adds weight, increases the complexity of the system and reduces the space available for tow line storage.
Therefore it is an objective of the present invention to provide for an improved towing and deployment mechanism for a towed aerobody that eliminates the use of sliprings and rotating payout reel.